Sunday Stamps - New Year; France

 I thought I would have to give the 'Holiday' theme a miss until I found this from 2001.

France - 2001

Happy New Year to one and all.

For other holidays visit Carnival at Sunday Stamps

Sunday Stamps - Happy Christmas; USA

 With Christmas arrangements cancelled for many in the UK all I can do is say - stay safe everyone.

In the US National Gallery of Art Museum in Washington the Dutch painter Hans Memling's Madonna and Child is not on view so we shall just have to share it on a stamp from 1967.

USA - 6 November 1967

The actual painting is larger than this and includes angels on either side.

A similar Memling painting also hands in the London National Gallery.

For other stamps related to a religious Christmas please visit the links at Seeitonapostcard - Mary..

Meanwhile stay safe!

Sunday Stamps - Christmas: Great Britain

 I'm always pleased to see robins in our garden so they are a natural choice with which to celebrate a secular Christmas.

Robin on some railings

This was one of a set of five issued for Christmas 1995. The other two of the set in my possession were - 

The postmark on the 11p stamp shows they were used in1996 - perhaps the robin had to find a road sign first; the robin had found a doorknob to rest upon on the 60p.

For more Christmas stamps just fly over to Sunday Stamp's calendar to start counting the days.

Sunday Stamps - Red: Great Britain, USA

Two old stamps to start this week, one from when I was a young boy.

Great Britain - 1939-1948

The 9th World Scout Jamboree, known as the Jubilee Jamboree, was held in Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield in August 1957 and commemorated with three stamps. This is one of them.

Great Britain - 1 August 1957

By 1962 Jetliners had become a more common sight as shown by this one flying over the Capitol.

USA - 5 December 1962

We already have a poinsettia plant ready to be part of our Christmas decorations this year - I suppose that this would also be appropriate for next weeks secular theme.

USA - 10 October 2013

Father Christmas may well land on a red roof soon, so check it out at Seeitonapostcard.

 

Castles on Sunday Stamps - Denmark, West Germany

 From Denmark and the island of Funen comes a medieval  castle where King Eric V signed Denmark's first constitution in 1252. The castle was also the venue for the country's first parliament, the Danehof.

Denmark - 16 Aug 1954 - Castle Nyborg

From an island location to two wasserschloss in Germany which appeared on West German stamps before reunification. A wasserschloss is a castle surrounded by a moat.

West Germany - 13 January 1973 - Gluckburg Castle

This water castle on the Flensburg Fjord was built from 1553 - 1597 by the son of a Danish king and is now a museum.

The water castle in Inzlingen is on the southwestern border of Germany near the Swiss city of Basel.

West Germany - 14 February 1980

Neuschwanstein Castle lies in a village near the town of Füssen

in South West Bavaria.

West Germany - 13 January 1977

For more impressive castles visit the links at Sunday Stamps

Sunday Stamps - Under the Sea: Australia, Belize

 Marine life seems to be a suitable topic for 'Under the Sea' but slugs were not initially in my mind until I saw Bennetts Nudibranch.

Australia - 18 June 1984

They seem to be having fun.

Belize's coral reef also seems to be the place for life of a different sort as shown on these stamps also from the same year.

Belize - 27 April 1984

To spend more time under water then please visit the links at Relics at Sunday Stamps

Sunday Stamps - Military: Great Britain

On Remembrance Sunday  what could be more appropriate than - 

Great Britain - 26 August 1971

In these Covid times we are being asked today to stand at 11am on our doorsteps in silence to remember them.

1971 saw the 50th anniversary of the British Legion.

For the military issues just visit the links at Sunday Stamps today.

Sepia Saturday - M- Mendelsshon

 It's a long time since I last appeared on Sepia Saturday but when I saw that you had reached 'M' in the alphabet series I just knew I had to take part.

I may not be able to show you machines or a lady working with them.

However  I came across a gentleman not known, or traced by me. There is no doubt about the photographer - 

Hayman Selig Mendelssohn (1847 -1908) had studios in London and Newcastle and was also photographer to Her Majesty Queen Victoria and the Royal Family.

This portrait found on a market stall in the North East of England contains interesting information on the back.

It is most frustration that I cannot read the signature but it appears to have been written in December (?) 1888.

And the number of photographic medals also fit nicely into our theme for 'M'.

For other 'M' related posts please visit the links at Sepia Saturday 545

Sunday Stamps - Front Line Workers: Great Britain, Iceland

I understand hat a number of countries will issue stamps relevant for these COVID times. However I have been disappointed to find that we do not really have many stamps that address front line workers at all.

the Salvation Army provides support to many and their centenary was celebrated as long ago as 1965.

Great Britain - 9 August 1965

A set of stamps  was issued for the police, 150 years after it was formed.

Great Britain - 28 September 1979

When it comes to nurses I could only find a District Nurse - in a set commemorating the centenary of the first telephone call.

Great Britain - 10 March 1976

For a stamp depicting a nurse  I had to visit Iceland - 

Iceland - 19 June 1970

 and that was for the 50th anniversary of the Icelandic Nurses Association.

To see front line workers found by others just visit the links at Sunday Stamps.

Sunday Stamps -Birds: USA, Dubai

This has been one of my favourite themes for over the 10 years that I have been taking part in Sunday Stamps.

The Migratory Bird Treaty between Canada and the United States was signed in 1916 and after 50 years in 1966 it was commemorated by -

USA - 16 March 1966

I have a spreadsheet on which I record each day the type of birds that I can see in or from my village garden. Occasionally each year I see a kestrel hovering over the fields nearby. However when I visit my daughter's home in Michigan I have yet to see the more colourful American kestrel - 

USA - 19 November 1999

This is the self-adhesive issue, the original stamp having been used from 1995.

I will never see two birds in my garden that appear on stamps from Dubai.

Dubai - 9 December 1968

I have enlarge these images in which you can clearly see just what they are.

To see what other birds have  been spotted this week just visit the links at Sunday Stamps

 

Sunday Stamps: Autumn Colours - Norway, USA

 As I don't really have any autumn colours to show on stamps I thought I would just share some from our garden.

Redwood shrub

The nearest stamp that I could show instead is a painting of a hanging birch by T H Fearnley.

Norway - 18 October 1976

The date it was issued is at least appropriate.

We see fir cones in autumn and so I thought that I could show some Christmas stamps - Holiday Evergreens - from the USA.

USA - 24 October 2010

These are from a double sheet, each containing nine. The recurring four stamps are (from the bottom left corner)

- Ponderosa Pine

- Eastern Red Cedar

- Balsam Fir

- Blue Spruce

For other colourful stamps visit the links at Sunday Stamps

Sunday Stamps - Arts and Crafts: Algeria, Lebanon, Great Britain

 The Arts and Crafts proved more difficult than I expected so I have used some stamps I have shown before.

However this stamp  shows jewellery of the Berber Kabyle people from the province of Kabylia in northern Algeria.

Algeria - 26 February 1966

My second stamp is a bit worse for wear but shows a potter at his work.

Lebanon - 1 February 1973

One of the most famous tapestrys in the world The Bayeux Tapestry is actually a collection of hand-stitched embroideries, using woollen yarns on to a linen backcloth, rather than a tapestry. Despite its name it was not made in France; it was made in Kent.

Great Britain - 14 October 1966

These are three of the stamp set issued to commemorate the 900th Anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.

In the one on the right you can see Harold getting an arrow in the eye.

For more Arts and Craft stamps just follow the links at Sunday Stamps

Waterfalls/Rivers on Sunday Stamps - Norway, USA, New Zealand

 I'm not sure that this is a waterfall in Norway but it certainly looks like one.

Norway - 13 June 1979

I was working in Stavanger at the time it was issued a came from a scenery series, this one depicting fauna, mammals and horses.

A ship's wheel and a power transmission tower (pylon) appeared on this Arkansas River Navigation stamp from the USA.

USA - 1 October 1968

Somehow I think you might need a map or sat-nav to find your way from Minnesota to Louisiana along the Great River Road through 10 States to follow the course of the Mississippi.

USA - 21 October 1966

The Peace issue from New Zealand in 1946 include a stamp showing Lake Matheson.

New Zealand - 1 April 1946

The lake formed in a hollow left by the Fox Glacier. Although it is not clear in the stamp, the Clearwater River drains out of the lake.

For more waterfalls and rivers just check the links to be found at Falls

Sunday Stamps from the Eastern Hemisphere - Bulgaria, Ethiopia

 With so many countries to choose from in the Eastern Hemisphere I finally settled on two - Bulgaria and Ethiopia.

I'm not a cat lover but Bulgaria issued a series of cat stamps in 1967 - here's just one of them.

Bulgaria - 19 June 1967

Does anyone one know what breed this is?

The first World Championship in Rhythmic Gymnastics was held in Budapest in 1963. At Varna in 1969, Bulgaria topped the medal table and issued a series of stamps 61 years ago today commemorating the event.

Bulgaria - 27 September 1969

I first heard of Haile Selassie as the Lion of Judah. He was the Emperor of Ethiopia and resisted the Italian invasion during WWII. I only have one Ethiopian stamp and he is depicted on that.

Ethiopia - 22 July 1968

He was Emperor from 1930 - 1974.

For more stamps from the Eastern Hemisphere visibly the links on Sunday Stamps

Sunday Stamps in Motion

 In 1986 Australia beat England in the final of the men's World Hockey Cup in London. A stamp to commemorate the World Cup was issued at the same time as stamps for the 13th Commonwealth Games at Edinburgh..

Great Britain - 15 July 1986

Hockey was a game I played for many years. 

It has been many years since I have run to catch a bus and the last double-decker that I rode on was on the way to Newcastle.

Perhaps a stationary one is more appropriate for me now. These are from the series for the 150th anniversary of the double-decker bus.

Great Britain - 15 May 2001

The 17th Commonwealth Games was held in Manchester in 2002 and was commemorate by a series of stamps, one of which really depicts people in motion and definitely running faster than I ever could.

Great Britain - 16 July 2002

Now it's your chance to get in Motion at Sunday stamps and run through the links posted there.

Urban Sunday Stamps - Singapore, Sweden,Switzerland

 After much searching I decided to use some buildings for this Urban theme.

A tourism series in 1990 from Singapore included a building with a famous name - Raffles Hotel.

Singapore - 4 July 1990

A notable building from Sweden has a Chinese look.

Sweden - 28 August 1976

 This shows the facade of the Chinese Pavilion in the grounds of Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm.

In contrast the railway station of Bellinzona in Switzerland is much more mundane.

Switzerland - 8 September 2016

Perhaps that is a good place to start your journey to more urban environments at Sunday Stamps

Sunday Stamps - Black & White: USA, Great Britain

 I could have posted this last week if only I had realised the USA's Celebrate the Century Series included a flag from Stock Car Racing.

USA - 26 May 1999

The first Daytona 500 race was held in 1959.

The 150th Anniversary of the RSPCA series of stamps included this - 

Great Britain - 23 January 1990

Who could resist a puppy like that?

If you had a job like hewing coal you definitely would get very black. Stamps for Social Reformers included one for Thomas Hepburn and a man doing just that job.

Great Britain - 28 April 1976

I guess that no one does this job anymore as all the deep mines in the UK have closed.

For more black and white stamps just visit Edward at Sunday Stamps.

Sunday Stamps - Flags; Hungary plus?

 It's evident from my stamp collection that it is the USA that features its flags the most. However in Great Britain it was 2001 before the Union Jack appeared on a stamp as the subject in its own right along with the White Ensign in a series on the submarine service.

!962 was a World Cup year, Chile was the host country and the cup was won by Brazil.

It was Hungary however who had a series of stamps showing the competing nations.

Hungary - 21 May 1962

These are six of the eight stamps in the series. How many flags do you recognise?

The stamps are designed to be viewed with the flagpole vertical so I hope you do not get a crick in your neck.

 For more flags test your knowledge of vexillology at Sticks and Flags.